1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to hoisting and lifting devices, and particularly to a crane for mounting in a vehicle trunk.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of devices have heretofore been utilized for applications requiring the hoisting and lifting of various loads. Cranes comprise one class of such devices and are generally adapted for swinging movements in combination with lifting movements. Large cranes find application in various commercial and industrial situations, e.g. construction, mining, cargo handling, etc.
Smaller capacity cranes and other lifting devices have been provided for applications, such as the loading and unloading of passengers and cargo in vehicles. For example, hoists have heretofore been installed in vans and buses for boarding and deboarding wheelchair-bound persons while still seated in their wheelchairs. See, for example, the Brown U.S. Pat. No. 3,957,164. Many people who have difficulty walking are quite capable of operating an automobile and are quite mobile with the assistance of a wheelchair. Difficulties are encountered by many such people when their wheelchairs must be transported with them in their vehicles. Loading and unloading a relatively bulky and cumbersome piece of equipment such as a wheelchair can be quite difficult without assistance, especially for a person with a disability or infirmity. Thus, wheelchair-bound persons have heretofore suffered from significant restrictions on their personal mobility and independence due to the difficulties that they encountered in loading and unloading their mobility equipment, i.e. wheelchairs, self-propelled personal mobility vehicles, etc. Many people are inconvenienced by a reliance on their mobility equipment and the need to take it wherever they go.
The Mann U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,200 discloses a wheelchair lift device for mounting in a vehicle trunk, but operation of this device requires certain steps for setting it up which may prove difficult or time-consuming. Heretofore there has not generally been available a crane or lift device with the advantages and features of the present invention.